Curtis Wilson, who was named the associate head coach prior to
the start of the 2006-07 season, is in his 10th year as a member of
the Yale staff. He works primarily with Yale's frontcourt players.
One of his first pupils was Neil Yanke, the captain of the 2000-01
Bulldogs. As a senior, Yanke, a 6-11 center, was named second team
All-Ivy after leading the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and blocked
shots (21) and finishing second in scoring (12.5 ppg). As a junior,
he led the team and was second in the Ivy League in rebounding (7.7
rpg) and led the team in blocks with 43, which was third in the
conference. After graduating, Yanke signed a free agent contract
with the Los Angeles Lakers. Wilson also worked with Dominck Martin
'06. Martin finished his career third in Yale history in career
field goal percentage (.568) and sixth in career blocked shots
(69). As a senior, he earned first team All-Ivy honors after
leading the Bulldogs in scoring (13.7 ppg.) and rebounding (7.1
rpg.). He also was named the Ivy League Most Valuable Player by
CollegeInsider.com and led the Ivy League in field goal percentage
and was fourth in scoring and rebounding. Martin is currently
playing professionally in Spain with Real Madrid. Wilson has played
a key role in the turnaround of the Yale basketball program. In
2001-02, the Bulldogs won their first Ivy League title since
1962-63 and earned the first postseason tournament victory in the
107-year history of Yale basketball. The team won 21 games, the
second most in the modern era of Yale basketball, and reached the
second round of the National Invitation Tournament. The Bulldogs
have had a .500 or better record in league play in each of the last
six years, which hasn't happened at Yale since the official start
of Ivy play in 1956-57. Prior to coming to Yale, Wilson spent five
years as an assistant to Tom Brennan at Vermont. He also was an
assistant for three years at Adelphi. In 1994, Wilson helped guide
Adelphi to the Division II ECAC championship. A 1991 graduate of
Adelphi, Wilson remains fifth all-time on the Adelphi scoring list
with 1,531 career points. A four-time basketball letterwinner and
co-captain of the team for three years, he was a New York City
Athletic Conference All-Star, winner of the team's Sportsmanship
Award as a senior and the Most Valuable Player Award as a
sophomore. Wilson received his bachelor's degree in business
administration and finance and earned a master's degree in sports
management from Adelphi in August, 1994. In the spring of 2001,
Wilson was inducted into the Adelphi Athletic Hall of Fame. He
resides in Hamden with his wife, Heather, and daughters Aysia,
Leigha and Tiffini.